25 June 2014

Prayer vigil for torture victims

A day of prayer will
take place on 26 June for people who are victims of torture and persecution. Action by Christians Against Torture UK (ACAT UK) is inviting all to join with Christians
around the world as they remember victims in prayer.

The vigil is timed
to coincide with the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Captives are held
in various countries around the world such as China, Benin, Colombia, Japan, Iran, Russia,
Israel, Mexico and Sudan. They are tortured because of their political
or religious convictions, their support of human rights or fight against racism
and injustice.

Behnam
Irani, for example, was a pastor in the Iranian town of Karaj for ten years.
Since 31 May 2011, however, he has been held in a prison in Ghezal Hesar, one
of the most punitive prisons in Iran, because he preached and held religious
services with Muslims present.

During
his first month of detention he was kept in solitary confinement. He was deprived
of sleep and then transferred into a collective cell where he was badly treated
by co-prisoners and guards. He is now in bad health and in need of an operation
but so far the prison has refused to let him receive suitable medical care.

Mother-of-two
Alexandra Jimenez Parra is being held in a Colombian prison for her political
activism. During the years of her imprisonment she has been subjected to
physical abuse and isolation. In April 2008 there was an incident in which she
was badly physically abused, handcuffed and placed in a rat-infested refuse room.

She has
tried several times to take her own life. At the end of 2013, she was finally
transferred to another prison where the situation improved somewhat. She has
not seen her daughters for three years.

These
cases resonate with the recent high-profile Summit to End Sexual Violence,
co-chaired by actress Angelina Jolie and foreign secretary William Hague, and
the case of Meriam Ibrahim, imprisoned on death row in Sudan for alleged
apostasy and adultery. Both stories received substantial media coverage. The summit
was the largest gathering ever on the subject and, due to unprecedented
international pressure, a court ordered the release of Meriam Ibrahim - though
the case at present is not resolved.

ACAT UK's aim is to work towards the abolition of all such abuse and torture
worldwide, seeking to raise awareness among Christians of their obligation to
campaign for abolition. Similar work is carried out by Alliance members Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide who campaign against the persecution
of Christians around the globe and, through advocacy, campaign for religious
freedom and human rights.

Torture
is totally banned in international law under all circumstances, including war,
civil war, internal conflict and terrorist attack. There is no opt-out but some
people still think that torture can be used in special circumstances.